Road win would be huge for Kentucky

Kellan Grady has already played at Vanderbilt once and faced Vandy star point guard Scotty Pippen twice. (Jeff Houchin Photo)

Kentucky has won nine straight games against Vanderbilt, a team not expected to contend for a NCAA Tournament berth this year. Yet Kentucky senior guard Kellan Grady says a win in Nashville tonight would be “huge” for the Wildcats.

He’s basing that on Kentucky losing both true road games — Notre Dame and LSU — it has played this season.

“The two road games we have played in have been two dogfights. We had opportunities to win and didn’t make enough plays or crucial stops,” said Grady Monday. “We need to come up with a win on the road just for our collective spirits.”

Does that mean Kentucky is lacking confidence it can win on the road and needs a boost of confidence?

“Don’t think that is the case,” Grady answered when I asked him that. “In both games we felt like we could have won and should have won. I just know that this is the SEC, probably the best league in the country, and every game is a tough game.

“Home court advantage is huge in the SEC. It would be great no matter who the opponent is to go into any arena and get a win.”

Grady played at Vanderbilt two years ago when he was at Davidson and knows about the unique configuration on the court.

“It’s definitely a little different than the typical arena but at the end of the day the game is decided between the lines,” Grady said.

Scotty Pippen will have a bigger impact than where the team benches are. Pippen, the SEC’s leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, had 18 points, eight assists, and eight rebounds in a 77-74 loss at UK last year and 21 points in an 82-78 loss to the Cats in Nashville.

“He is a good player,” Grady, who has played against Pippen twice, said. “He’s versatile, a lot of stuff to his game. But we will just prepare for him like any other elite guard.”